Dr. Maulana Karenga (born July 14, 1941), also
known as Ron Everett, is an African American author and political
activist. He is best known as the founder of
Kwanzaa, a week-long
Pan-African celebration observed each year from December 26 to January
1, initiated in California in 1967.

Dr. Karenga is professor of Black Studies at
California State University, Long Beach. He received his B.A. and M.A.
in political science from UCLA, a Ph.D. in political science from
United States International University and a second Ph.D. in social
ethics from the University of Southern California. An activist-scholar,
he is chair of The Organization Us, National Association of Kawaida
Organizations and executive director of the Kawaida Institute of
Pan-African Studies. He is also creator of the pan-African holiday
Kwanzaa and author of numerous scholarly articles and books, including
Introduction to Black Studies, Kwanzaa: A Celebration of
Family, Community and Culture; Kawaida: A Communitarian African
Philosophy; Odu Ifa: The Ethical Teachings; Selections
From The Husia: Sacred Wisdom of Ancient Egypt; and Maat, The
Moral Ideal in Ancient Egypt: A Study in Classical African Ethics.
A leading scholar in the development of the discipline of Black Studies,
his fields of teaching and research are: Black Studies theory and
history, Africana (continental and diasporan) philosophy; ancient
Egyptian (Maatian) ethics; ancient Yoruba (Ifa) ethics; African American
intellectual history; ethnic relations and the socio-ethical thought of
Malcolm X. He is currently writing a book on Malcolm X and the
Critique of Domination: An Ethics of Liberation.

The Handbook of Black Studies is the first resource to bring together
research and scholarship in the field of African-American studies in one
volume. Editors Molefi Kete Asante and Maulana Karenga, along with a
pre-eminent group of contributors, examine various aspects of the field
of Black Studies. Organized into three parts, this Handbook explores
historical and cultural foundations, philosophical and conceptual bases,
and critical and analytical concepts.

Presents Historical and Cultural Foundations: More than a
chronicle of black culture or black people, this volume examines the
emergence and maturity of the Black Studies field. Designed to be
the principal reference work for the state of the field in African
American Studies, this handbook covers the intent, function, and
scope of the field with some suggestions about its future
directions.

Explores Philosophical and Conceptual Bases: Numerous
theoretical and methodological adventures are examined, as well as
research practices among scholars. A comprehensive, Pan-African
approach to the field is provided as the contributions to this
volume are not limited to discussing one area of the African world.

Addresses Critical and Analytical Concepts: Researchers
demonstrating intellectual rigor through unique and interesting
projects are contributors to this volume. Black Studies is portrayed
in a world context, not an "ethnic" volume, but a resource dealing
with an important modern discipline whose practitioners and
interests cross many borders.

Intended Audience: Perfect resource for any academic library; as well
as graduate students and researchers seeking to ascertain the current
state of the research in African American Studies

This work is a critical examination of Maat, the moral ideal in
ancient Egypt. It seeks to present Maat in the language of modern moral
discourse while at the same time preserving and building on its
distinctiveness as a moral ideal capable of inspiring and maintaining
ethical philosophic reflection. The effort here is one of both
interpretation and transmission of an ethical tradition, a project in
which tradition is seen not simply as a precondition and process in
which one comes, but also as an ongoing product of one's efforts to
understand it. Locating himself within the tradition, the author seeks
to test the conceptual elasticity of its major categories and
contentions and to establish its capacity for critical moral discourse.

The complete Kwanzaa book that educators and parents have been
waiting for has arrived. Written by the creator of the holiday, this
book presents the continental African and African-American origins of
the celebration, a chapter on each of the Seven Principles, explanations
of the meaning of related symbols, suggested activities, and a wrap-up
section in which Karenga answers frequently asked questions. The
beginning chapter provides a concise overview of the holiday, with
subsequent chapters providing in-depth information on the "first-fruits"
or harvest festivals that provided the basis for Kwanzaa. The attractive
layout features plenty of white space with text blocks broken up by both
full-color and black-and-white photographs (from the author's very first
Kwanzaa celebration) and illustrations. This book belongs in every
library, both as a reference book and for general circulation. A chapter
on Swahili terminology and Kwanzaa greetings is included and a
bibliography provides extensive references for those interested in
further research.
Copyright 1998 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

The Black Candle is a landmark, vibrant documentary that uses
Kwanzaa
as a vehicle to celebrate the African-American experience. Narrated by
renowned poet Maya Angelou and directed by award-winning author and
filmmaker M.K. Asante, Jr., The Black Candle is an extraordinary,
inspirational story about the struggle and triumph of African-American
family, community, and culture. Filmed across the United States, Africa,
Europe and the Caribbean, The Black Candle is a timely illumination on
why the seven principles of Kwanzaa are so important to
African-Americans today. The first feature film on Kwanzaa, The Black
Candle traces the holiday's growth out of the Black Power Movement in
the 1960s to its present-day reality as a global, pan-African holiday
embraced by over 40 million celebrants. With vivid cinematography and an
all star cast that features the best and brightest from the hip-hop and
the civil rights generations, The Black Candle is more than a film about
a holiday: it's a celebration of a people!